Summer is here and it’s time to get moving. Most of us are more active during this time of year compared to the winter months. With the warmer weather, longer days and more sunshine, we start to feel better physically and mentally.
There is a strong connection between how we feel and think, our bodies and how active we are. Our behaviour is directly linked to our thoughts, how we think about fitness and exercise often determines if we will choose an active lifestyle. The most common pitfall we have when committing to being more active is “all-or-nothing” thinking.
For example, we find out the latest guidelines for how much exercise we should be doing and tell ourselves that we will never be able to do that much in a week. So, we decide to put it off because it seems that the little we could start with wouldn’t be worthwhile. Another example is, we commit to exercising five days and manage to do this for a week, but then are too sore the following week, so we take a day off, which then turns into two or three. Then decide we have lost this week and will start fresh next week.
Such thinking will cause us to focus on what we are not doing rather than what we are doing and can create guilt, frustration and disappointment. These feelings and emotions will then overpower any motivation we may have had to be more active and decrease our confidence levels dramatically.
Learning to think more positively can be the first step towards changing this type of thinking pattern and becoming an active self-manager of our health. We all know the healthy behaviours we should be doing daily but sometimes it is the little voice in our heads that stops us. Begin by noticing these thoughts and the vocabulary we use when thinking about exercise. Be sure to catch words like: always, never, terrible or awful as these tend to describe an extreme end of the spectrum.
Next, change these thoughts or sayings into more positive ones. This can be difficult, especially at first, but look for ways to make these thoughts more rational and helpful. Often, all-or-nothing thinking is preventing us from getting what we really want. Try to have some ready-made thoughts on hand to use when feeling negative about exercise. Ideas like “Anything is better than nothing at all”, or “I’ll start small and see what happens” can be more motivating than “I’ll never be able to do that!”
Be sure to rehearse these sayings so that they will come more naturally during real-life situations.
Finally, with practice, these thoughts often reflect what we are feeling all along. Changing the way we think is like changing any habit. We must be deliberate at first, but this will become easier the more we do it. Be sure to make a commitment for at least the next few days or weeks before deciding if it is working or not.
When starting any exercise program, be realistic and start slowly and progress gradually. Always include a warm-up of light intensity movements to prepare the body for exercise. Don’t focus too much on intensity, a lower pace for longer is often better than faster for a shorter period of time. Include a cool down period of light intensity movements to return the heart rate and blood pressure to normal. Finally, finish off with some stretching to reward all the parts of the body we exercised.
The moral of the story is: Everyone is only one workout away from a great day.
For more information about any of the free services offered by the Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team, visit mmfht.ca or call the Drayton office at 519-638-2110 or Clifford office at 519-327-4777.
Sandy Turner is the health promotor with the Family Health Team.
